


Two Princes

by SpVale



Category: Archie Comics, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Sort of Robin Hood!AU but not really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-11 01:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11703816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpVale/pseuds/SpVale
Summary: Marry him or marry meI'm the one that loves you baby can't you see?I ain't got no future or a family treeBut I know what a prince and lover ought to beI know what a prince and lover ought to beTwo Princes, Spin Doctors





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, this is my first fanfic in this fandom (and language), so please tell me what you think about this story. Thanks in advance, see you at the end of the chapter.

He had been standing on the side of the path for more than five hours and he was losing his hope. Not that before he was optimist. Indeed, the young man was there only because of a rumor that Veronica overheard in the town market three days before: according to it, Prince Chuck had invited aristocratic families from all over the Country to join his party, that he threw because he was looking for a bride. So, Jughead was standing there because that path was the easiest and shortest way to get to the court, and a lot of coaches full of rich people and of their goods were supposed to pass through here.

Right when he was about to leave the place, he spotted two white horses coming his way, and he guessed they were training a coach, so, full of renewed energy, Jughead stood up and got ready for his role. As the coach reached him, he halted the coachman waving his arms.

“ Sir, sir, please stop. The other day rained so much that this path isn’t accessible anymore”

The man stopped the horses, a little suspicious ”Are you sure, kid?”

“Absolutely, never been more”

“Uhm… So, is there another way to get to the Prince Chuck’s castle?” Jughead made a huge smile, pointing to another way ”Sure, sir. You just have to keep going straight this way, and when you arrive to the village of Southside, well, I am sure you’ll find the way by yourself”

“Thank you, kid” and the coachman started heading the way the ‘kid’ pointed to.

“Wait a minute, sir!” Jughead exclaimed, jumping in front of the horses.

“What do you want, kid?”

“Won’t you give this _kid_ a coin or two for helping you out?” the man started laughing.

“Why should I? You only fulfilled your duty, and the Lord knows that”

Jughead watched the coach going away. He sneered and started running.

  _No coin flip this time_ , he thought. Clearly, he knew the Riverwood forest way better than the coachman did and he reached pretty quickly his fellow men, who were waiting for him halfway the path.

“Oh, look who’s there! Found anything, Jug?”

“Oh yes, Chris. There’s a coach with two horses and a pretty stupid man leading it coming this way. The coach looked really good and expensive, and I bet the horses are too. They’ll be here in a few minutes, we better hurry” Jughead explained, already checking the ropes ”He didn’t even give me the coin…” he added. Chris started laughing, while a boy of Jughead’s age rolled his eyes “You and your stupid games. Jughead, we live out of this, we can’t leave our next  meals’ faith to a coin”

“I know, Joaquin, I know”

“Ok, guys, get ready” Chris whispered, spotting the horses coming.

The men(there were five) got ready on their position, hidden by the trees and bushes. When the coach was in the trap, they attacked it: two of them, who were as big as bears, jumped in front of the now terrified horses and halted them using ropes; Joaquin cut the ropes which were holding up in the air a big trunk, that crushed against the side of the couch, causing it and the coachman to fall to the ground; Chris, at this point, held the man to the terrain, while he was screaming for help. Right when Jughead jumped on the coach’s door to get in, they all heard another one coming. Chris stood up and ran toward it immediately to stop them and suggesting them another path, leaving free the prisoner. The latter made his way to get up before Jughead could stop him and with a knife he set free one of the horses and jumped on the equine.

Jughead and one of the big men tried to stop the coachman, but the first one fell to the ground, while the latter got hurt on his head by one of the horse’s hoof and passed out. When Chris got back, the coachman had already ran away screaming for help riding the horse.

“We’re lucky Jug found this couch, the other one wasn’t worth a- Wait, what in hell has happened here!?” Chris exclaimed, seeing Joaquin and Jughead trying to awake the other man on the ground, while the last one was keeping the white animal.

“The coachman ran away” Jughead answered.

“What? Why did you let him?”

“Hey man, have you seen him? He was as twice as me and all of us has been starving for the past three days. We are weak…”Chris sighed, putting a hand in is hair ”Okay, fine. Jug, get in the coach. We need to know who is in there and how much money is worth what’s inside.”

Jughead climbed up the transport and opened the doors, looking inside: there was a young girl with long blonde hair and pale skin, wearing a simple pink dress. She didn’t show any sign of being awake, but Jughead saw her breathing slowly. Looking closely, he saw she had a deep injury on her forehead.

“So? What’s inside?”Joaquin asked, losing every hope of waking the man when he started mumbling something about beer.

“Uhm, there is a girl with her trunks-there are three-, a  letter and a bag with money”

Chris clapped his hands with a grin on his face “Good! Really, really good! With the gold of the coach, the horse, her luggage and the money we should be fine for a few months!”

Joaquin helped Jughead to get the girl out of the coach and then started to carry out all of the goods.

“What do we do with her?”Jughead asked, pointing with his head to the girl in his arms.

“We take her to the town. When she wakes up we’ll tell her we casually found her in the woods, and if we’re lucky she’ll reward us with a financial help”

“What? And what if she lost her memory? What if she’s one of the hateful nobles? And how are we supposed to take her to town?”Jughead replied.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. If she’s not good, we can always get her back here. And, you’ll be the one to have the honor to take her to town.”

“What?!”

Joaquin grinned, while putting his asleep friend of the back of the horse, who had calmed down a few minutes prior ”C’mon, Jug. It could’ve been worse” he said, when they all started walking toward Riverdale.

“Well, she’s not exactly a leaf, you know…” Jughead mumbled, but he kept on walking and carrying her.

\---------

She woke up when one of the wooden wheels of the coach hit a rock. The girl stretched her arms and yawned in a very unladylike way, but she didn’t care at all because she was alone. Actually, she was supposed to travel with her sister, but Polly got engaged the previous week with the heir of the noble Blossom ancestry, Jason, and that meant wherever her sister went, Jason would’ve been there, and his twin sister Cheryl too. And Elizabeth couldn’t remotely stand the twins for a few _minutes_ of conversation, let alone for a travel _hours_ long.

The lady looked down at the letter in her hands and sighed: it was the invitation to the Prince Chuck’s ball, and she was one of the possible candidates for being his bride. She had heard a lot of things about the prince, and the most of them were good-he was a good hunter, a cultured man, good looking and clever-but the most of it was told her by her parents, who were trying to get her married with him, so she wasn’t so sure that all she  heard was true.

She was staring at the letter in her hands, when the coach suddenly halted. Curious, Elizabeth looked outside of her little window: in front of the horses, there was a young man with a strange hat waving his arms. He was speaking quickly to sir Smithers, suggesting him to change path. When the coachman was already going in the direction he was suggested, the raven-haired boy halted him again.

“Won’t you give this _kid_ a coin or two for helping you out?” she heard him saying, followed immediately by Smithers’ laugh. When they started to travel again, Elizabeth changed her position, going to the side near the coachman’s outside seat.

“Why didn’t you give him a coin, sir Smithers?” the man laughed briefly.

“If we gave a coin to every peasant we meet, milady, your honorable family would have no goods left” Elizabeth wasn’t sure she liked that answer, but she nodded with her head and got back to her seat.

A few minutes later, she heard the horses neighing and then something hit hard the side of the coach, causing it to fall on the other one and that’s the last thing she understood before she closed her eyes and fainted.


	2. Chapter Two

By the time Jughead got home, the sun had almost set and he couldn’t feel his arms anymore. He opened the wooden door of the Wythe Wyrm’s backroom with his foot and got in walking slowly, hoping to not being noticed. Of course, his hopes were vain.

“Forsythe Pendleton Jones, the third of your name, is this the time to get back home?” his mother’s voice thundered, making him freeze in place. He turned around slowly, facing Gladys with a guilty look.

“Hi, mom”

“So? Any explanat- Wait a second, who’s this girl?! Why is she in your arms? And why is she hurt?”

“Uhm… The mission with the guys went kind of well, and she is the-“

“The _mission_? With _the guys_? Who was with you, Christopher?”

“Yes…?”

“Oh, this time your father and his clique will hear from me!”

“Mom. Mom! Calm down! I told you, it went well!”

“Well, you have a passed out girl in your arms, I wouldn’t say that”

“Yeah, ehm, now that we’re talking about that… where can I put her down?”

“Take her in your room, on your bed”

“Wait, where am I supposed to sleep, then?”

“Here” Gladys pointed to a few boxes in the room. They didn’t look exactly comfortable, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Jughead.

“What?! Are you kidding me?” his mother let out a snort, starting to walk toward the door.

“It’s your choice. One of us will not sleep in a bed tonight and I won’t give mine to a stranger. So, it’s you or her” Jughead groaned and tried to object, but Gladys didn’t let him.

“Just take her in your bed, then I’ll take care of her” said so, the woman left him alone in the crescent darkness of the room. He blinked a few times, groaned again, and then headed towards the room he shared with his sister.

 

\-----------

 

When Jughead woke up the morning later, he didn’t feel rested at all: his arms still hurt from the previous afternoon, his legs were heavy and his back ached thanks to the boxes that had been his bed for that night. In addition, he had dreamt of eating a piece of delicious meat with hot bread and drinking a glass full of flavorful cold milk, so his stomach was asking for some food (a lot of it, actually).

After eating one of the few peaches left in the kitchen, he remembered the cause of at least half of his aches: the blonde girl he “rescued” the day before. Wanting to find out more about the girl, Jughead headed to his room, and. When he opened the door, he saw his mother putting on the girl’s forehead a  damp shred and a little raven-haired girl standing beside her.

“Good morning, Jug” they said in unison.

“Morning. How is she?”

“We’re fine Jughead, thanks for asking” he glared at his sister, who stick her tongue out as answer.

“She’s healing, the cut isn’t as deep as it seemed and probably she’s just passed out”

“Good”

“How did you found her?”

“Not your business, Jellybean”

“Ow, c’mon! How? Where? How did you take her here?”

“Mom, can’t JB just leave?”

“You’re rude, Jug”

“You’re annoying, JB”

“It’s my room too!”

“I’m the older here!”

“So?”

“So, you must do what I tell you to do”

“it makes no sense”

“You know what m-“

“Okay, you two, stop it” their mother interrupted ”Jellybean, we need to go to the market, so you have to leave anyway”

“What? Again?”

“Yes”

“But can’t Jug come for once?”

“He has to look after this girl. Now, stop complaining and come with me” she pushed a frowning jellybean out of the room and, before leaving her too, she turned to her son.

“If she wakes up, give her some fruit and some water. Don’t terrify her”

“Ahh, it will be hard, mom” Gladys glared at him and left.

When the door closed he sat next to the girl, who was sleeping peacefully, and took out of his pocket a piece of paper: it was a letter he found in the girl’s hands when he got in the coach. He tried to read it, and understood almost nothing, but he did catch a few words.

“Princess Elizabeth, of the Cooper’s ancestry… Wow, a you’re a really rich one, aren’t you?” he asked her with a smirk, obviously getting no response. The day before, he was so tired he didn’t even looked closely at her, even if he had her in his arms for more than he had wished -at the only thought, his limbs ached again. Her blonde hair wasn’t that long, it just reached the end her shoulder blades, and he had seen girls with hair long over their waists. Her face had delicates features, her skin was pale and her lips were full and as pink as peaches. He was still staring at her, unconscious of how close their faces were, when he had the chance to see also the green color of her eyes. Anyway, he watched those pupils for barely a second, that a small and open hand slammed hard against his left cheek, causing him to fall to the floor, both surprised and hurt. When he looked back at her, she was sitting and keeping her sheets up to her chin, and she was staring at him.

“What the…”

“Who the heck are you?” she asked, scared and curious at the same time.

“I’m the guy that you’ve just slapped” he muttered, standing up. She glared at him.

“Wait a second, you’re the kid who was in the wood asking for coins, aren’t you?”

“And you’re  princess Elizabeth, I know, I know…”

“How…”

“I read that letter” he said lazily, pointing at the object. Elizabeth blushed. She didn’t like that guy: he talked as if she was stupid –and she wasn’t-, he looked at her with an annoyed face and didn’t show any hints of respect. The princess took a deep breath, closing her eyes for  a second, then opening them again.

“Would you please tell me your name?”

“It’s Jughead, milady” he said, mocking a bow. If she wasn’t that annoyed and confused, she would’ve probably laughed at that name. But she was, so she let out an ungraceful snort, looking at anything but him. He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“You know, it’s not that royal, the sound you’ve just made” she ignored him.

“Where am I and what am I doing here?”

“Can’t you just relax for a second, princess?” she glared at him. Again. “No? Okay, calm down” she got up from the bed.

 “You don’t have the right to tell me to calm down. And what am I wearing?”the girl asked, looking down at her simple and cheap brown clothes, missing her pale pink dress.

“If you shut up for… if you _silence_ yourself for a second, I’ll explain you” Elizabeth looked at him for a long moment, then she nodded and sat on the bed.

“Alright. Yesterday I was walking with one of my friends in the Riverwood forest and we found a crashed coach on the side of the path. I looked in for curiosity and I found you. I took you here, where I live, and my mother took care of you. You probably have a bad headache because you are hurt on your forehead” she touched her brow, looking for the injury: he was right, her head was pounding.

“Thank you for the report, but where am I, exactly? I need to go to Prince Chuck’s castle for his party next Saturday, and I can’t miss”

“Of course you can’t. You are in the Southside” she looked at him confused “It is a small town in the Riverdale County: in this order, there’s the Southside town-here-, Northside and Pembrooke-where you have to get” he explained.

“Thank you, Jughead. Is there a place where I can eat something?” she asked politely, standing up.

“Sure. Follow me”

He took her in the small kitchen and the princess sat on one of the four little wooden chairs, while Jughead took a peach from the pantry and offered her.

“How did you take me here, Jughead?” she asked, between the bites. He could say that she was hungry even if she was trying to hide it.

“In my arms. You are welcome, by the way” Elizabeth blushed and thanked him, but when she was about to talk again she got cut off by the entrance in the room of a dog, followed by Jellybean. The animal immediately sniffed the princess, who started petting it after an initial shook.

“JB, what is Hot Dog doing in here?” Jughead asked to his sister, while trying to stop his dog from jumping on the blond girl’s lap.

“I don’t know, mom and I were about to go to the market and he just broke into the pub” she explained, trying not to laugh at the scene and to help her brother. Then she realized who was the girl and left Jughead to his fate, which soon revealed to involve him falling to the ground with the dog upon him licking his face.

“Hi! I’m Jellybean! I helped my mom with taking care of you! How are you?”

“Hi! Thank you so much, I’m feeling fine, I owe you. I’m Elizabeth, by the way, but you can call me Betty”

“Nice to meet you, Betty! Is it true that you’re a princess? Do you own a castle?”

“Jellybean, stop  importuning her” Jughead said, finally getting up “And you, princess, didn’t tell me I could call you Betty”

“Well, you didn’t give me the time, so you _can’t_ call me Betty” he frowned.

“But Elizabeth is too long. I don’t want to lose a minute every time only to say your name” she shrugged her shoulders, making him snort and his sister laugh. The door opened again and Gladys got in the small kitchen.

“Jellybean, have you caught  Hot Dog? Oh dear, you finally woke up!” she exclaimed, looking at Betty. The princess stood up, making a small bow to the woman.

“You must be Jughead and Jellybean’s mother. Thank you for taking care of me. I will never be able to repay you” Gladys shook her hand as if she was shooing a bug, and smiled at her.

“Oh, you’re welcome. But I didn’t do that much, you should thank Jughead more for giving you his bed”

Betty raised an eyebrow, looking at the boy.

“He did?” he blushed and looked away, raising an hand to scratch his neck, embarrassed.

“Hey, Betty, do you want to come to the market with mom and I?” Jellybean asked, gripping the other girl’s arm.

“Yes, why not? Do you want to join us?” Betty smiled and was about to answer when Jughead interrupted her.

“Wait, mom. It’s not safe”

“Oh sure it is. She’s with us. So, Betty?”

“I would love to” the girl grinned as Jellybean started to push her out of the room, excited.

“I have never seen your sister so excited to go to the market” Gladys said amused.

“Mom, you know it’s not safe. Not only for her health but also for _them._ If they see her-“

“That’s exactly why I am taking her out. Your friends are coming over here to the pub under your father’s orders. It’s better if they don’t see her”

“I still think she’d be safe here” his mother put her hands on his shoulders.

“Trust me, nothing will happen to her. At least, if I am leaving now. If I don’t, I can’t assure you how many damages your sister’s excitement could do” she was about to go out the room, when she turned around, looking at the dog with an annoyed look on her face.

“And take him out of here. I don’t want dog’s fur in my food” said so, she closed the door.

Jughead looked at Hot Dog, who was resting on the wooden floor. He was left with an heavy dog to move and even heavier worries on his mind. He sighed and started to try to get the dog out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading,   
> See you next time,  
> Vale

**Author's Note:**

> *The excuse that Jughead makes up at the beginning is inspired by an episode of Reign*  
> Hey again, thanks for reading, hope you'll keep on.  
> See you, Vale


End file.
